Gray doesn’t make friends with women. He has sex with them. Until Ivy.
The last thing star tight-end Gray Grayson wants to do is drive his agent’s daughter’s bubblegum pink car. But he needs the wheels and she’s studying abroad. Something he explains when she sends him an irate text to let him know exactly how much pain she’ll put him in if he crashes her beloved ride. Before he knows it, Ivy Mackenzie has become his best texting bud. But then Ivy comes home and everything goes haywire. Because the only thing Gray can think of is being with Ivy.Ivy doesn’t have sex with friends. Especially not with a certain football player. No matter how hot he makes her…
Gray drives Ivy crazy. He’s irreverent, sex on a stick, and completely off limits. Because, Ivy has one golden rule: never get involved with one of her father’s clients. A rule that’s proving harder to keep now that Gray is doing his best to seduce her. Her best friend is fast becoming the most irresistible guy she’s ever met.Which means Gray is going to have to use all his skills to get himself out of the friend zone and into Ivy’s heart. Game on
Even though it’s thirty degrees out, I chose a black silk tank that hugs my waist but gathers loosely over my breasts. A tie around my neck holds the top secure. That I am braless is not lost on him. He stares at my stiff nipples as his fingers drift to the bow at the back of my neck and give it a little flick. “Take it off.”“W-what?”“Let me see those sweet tits you’ve been teasing me with since you walked in the bar.”“I—” My breath catches. “No. I’m not taking my clothes off for a stranger.”
He doesn’t look away. “But you want to, don’t you? You want me to look at you.” He bends his head until his lips are at my ear. “You’re dying to expose yourself, to let me see those pretty pink nipples.”
My skin draws tight. I struggle not to sway into him.
He leans back, his attention on my top again. “Untie the bow.”
“Someone might come in.” Despite our play, my fear of getting caught is real, though not completely unwelcome.
“They won’t. I took care of it.”
I believe that. Gray would cover all the bases. In his own way, he’s as much of a planner as I am. But I can’t think of him as Gray now, not when he’s doing this for me.
His fingers are back, skimming over my inner arm, teasing the edges of my top. “Just a little peek.”
My breasts ache so badly, they’re hot, heavy, the silk covering them an irritant. With shaking hands, I reach up. The fabric tugs against my neck then comes free. It slithers over my skin like a caress.
He sucks in an audible breath as my breasts are exposed. I see myself through his eyes, sitting half-naked in this dim back room, my nipples puckered, my breasts quivering with each shallow breath I take. The vulnerability of it feels naughty, forbidden, and I nearly whimper.
A noise of pure satisfaction leaves him. Not bothering to lift his gaze from my breasts, he reaches out, runs the tips of his fingers over my nipple. I’m so sensitized now the touch sends a bolt of pure, searing lust straight through me. I flinch, clench my teeth to keep still.
He hums, strokes me back and forth as if he owns me. “So pretty.” He grazes me again.
“You like that, sweetheart?”
Eyes closed, I bite my lower lip and nod.
I feel him move. The wet flat of his tongue drags over my nipple. My eyes fly open on a strangled cry. He grins up at me, his mouth hovering at my breast. It isn’t his usual cheeky grin but something more wicked. “Mmm. Delicious.”
He takes a step closer, and I swallow convulsively. Gray’s voice lowers. “I wonder where else you taste good. You want to show me, sweets?”
I’m practically panting now. My hair swings as I give my head a hard shake. He leans in, trailing the blunt tip of his finger up the curve of my breast. I nearly yelp when he gives the stiff peak a quick, crude pinch.
His smile is pure male smugness. “Lift up your skirt and show me where you’re wet.”
You are the happiness I never realized I needed.
Have you ever started a book and from just the first few pages known that you have a 5 star on your hands? You know what feeling I’m talking about. The permanent goofy smile, the warm and fuzzies in your stomach, the I’ll-just-read-one-more-page-and-before-you-know-it-you’re-done, book butterflies kind of feeling. That’s exactly what happened to me. Now I loved The Hook Up and I was equal parts dying and dreading this book. Why? Because it’s hard to follow up on a book that you loved. But honest to gawd, I think I loved this one even more. Why?
1. There was Gray
If you love the manwhores but hate about reading all their conquests and about them generally being a giant douchebag for most of the book until they hit their epiphany, well my picky friends, meet your holy grail hero. Gray was absolute perfection from the very start. Well, don’t get me wrong, he’s not perfect perfect. But there were NO other women. None. Not even flirting. But oh was there texting. Which brings me to my next reason.
2. The banter/texting.
Oh. My. Gawd. The texting!
If you don’t have a goofy grin on your face reading each of the texts between Ivy and Gray, we’re not reading the same book. Seriously.
3. Ivy
I loved her. No seriously. I loved her. She was sassy, sharp-witted, 6ft of awkward dancing awesome. I just loved all her quirky imperfections and the fact that she wasn’t your typical dainty tiny heroine.
Clearly Gray had no issues with that.
4. The friends-to-lovers trope
Gah. Just gah. I think this may have been my favorite friends to lovers romance I’ve read this year. That slow burn, that sizzling sexual tension. Perfection. I loved that their friendship was what developed first but with a clear underlying of attraction. And if you follow my reviews than you know I love me my slow burn. Why? Because when it finally implodes, it’s bound to be delicious…
And for my curious fellow perverts out there, yes there’s a verra good dose of steam here. I got two words for you: Bar. Scene. You’ll see.
So in case my list of feels wasn’t clear enough, I loved this book. I loved everything about it. Even the little thing that happens towards the end. To me, it fit the story and just added a little more depth to the characters and their romance.
Kristen Callahan hit it out of the ballpark once again. (Get it? Sports metaphor. Ha!) And I absolutely cannot wait for more in this series. Like maybe, hopefully, fingers crossed, Dex? I do love me those lumbersexuals.
Would I recommend this book? Hell yes! Read it, fall in love with the characters, laugh like a loon, and not regret a perfect second of it.
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